It Was Everything Part 1: Crash Landing
by deactivated-9814
Summary: It was just supposed to be a quick outing - some stargazing with Chica, that was all. But when a meteor crashed down to earth, Mark discovered that his dreams of space were becoming a reality. Part 1 of It Was Everything.
1. Chapter 1

Gravel crunched under tires as Mark drove the car down the otherwise silent country road. The sun was setting in the distance and the moon could just be seen near the opposite side of the horizon, big and beautiful in the twilight sky, the stars just peeking out like pinpricks of light in a gigantic, beautifully woven cloth.

As the car pulled to a stop next to a gigantic field, Chica barked in the passenger's seat.

"Alright, Chica, let's get you out of there."

Laughing as she woofed in response, Mark walked around to her side of the car. It was a beautiful night, especially for this season. There weren't even any clouds in the sky, making it a perfect night for viewing the meteor shower.

After all, if there was anything Mark loved, it was space. And Chica.

"Okay, you silly goof, let's get you out of there!" Mark opened the door and let Chica out, giggling as she immediately attempted to tackle him. He happily let her succeed, laughing as she licked his face. "Come on, we gotta get going! It starts in five minutes!"

He quickly attached a leash to Chica's collar, letting her lead the way to the center of the field. The dry summer grass crunched underfoot, and soon, lightning bugs could be seen flashing tiny patterns - like stars on the ground.

Mark sighed as he sat down in the grass. Chica turned around and snuggled up next to him, licking his hands as he absentmindedly tried to scratch behind her ears. He swore. "I should have brought a blanket."

Despite the total lack of ground coverage, the pair of goofs were soon laying back on the earth and staring at the night sky.

"Ah, Chica, it's a tough life we lead," began Mark. "Day in and day out. One thing after another. It's nice, but… I wish we could do things like this more often, you know?"

Chica woofed and licked his nose.

"Sometimes… sometimes I wish I could just go out there and touch the stars. Just… I don't know, it wouldn't even have to be for long, just a single second would be enough…"

Chica whined, stood up, and licked his nose again. She then proceeded to lay directly over Mark's stomach, causing Mark to swear and sit up. He immediately looked back up at the sky as the first shooting star of the night fell. He sighed.

"It's everything, Chica. And I'm glad we're a part of it."

Mark squinted. Meteors usually burned up in the atmosphere fairly fast, but this one was seemingly a bit more persistent than the rest. What's more, it seemed to be going directly towards him.

Oh well, it was probably just an illusion, he thought, though the feeling of doubt stayed with him as the shooting star continued to get larger and larger faster and faster until he was _sure_ there was something wrong.

He stood up, grabbing Chica's leash. "Okay, Chica. Let's go to the car and watch from there." However, Chica didn't want to move. She whined as Mark tried to pick her up, scratching at the dirt in an attempt to stay put.

"Fine. We'll wait here in the middle of this clearing where we're going to be just fine and nothing at all is going to crash." Mark sat down, frustrated by the struggle. It was strange, he thought, it seemed to be getting lighter outside, and there was a weird noise in the air, something between strings and a door creaking.

Mark looked up.

The meteor was heading right for them, probably only a mile away at this point. Mark stared at it, too scared to move. It zoomed towards them faster and faster and Mark closed his eyes and hugged Chica close and then -

The noise stopped with a deafening boom. A few seconds later, a door creaked open. Mark heard footsteps approaching. Chica squirmed in his arms.

"Hello, there! Sorry about the landing, she does that sometimes. Of course, it's more my fault, really - I never learned how to drive the thing. So!" There was a pause, and the voice shifted to a softer tone. "Are you alright?"

Mark slowly opened his eyes. The man in front of him was half sitting, half kneeling on the grass, staring concernedly at him.

"Ah!" The man grinned. "Good! You're okay! I'm the Doctor. You?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Uh…" Mark's mouth hung open. Something strange was going on.

Chica jumped out of Mark's arms and immediately started to sniff 'the Doctor', who responded with a look of sheer delight. "Oh! And what's your name, then, eh?" He laughed, seeming to listen for a response. "Chica! That's a lovely name, love a good Chica!" He grinned happily and began to scratch behind Chica's ears with an outstretched hand.

Mark stared dumbfounded. He had no idea what was going on. Slowly but surely - and still quite a bit shaky - he stood up.

"Right then! Back on track! Not that dogs aren't on track, lovely people, dogs, wish I had one. Anyway! From what good ol' Chica Beaka here told me, your name is Mark, right?" The Doctor continued lean over and pet Chica as he looked up at Mark.

"From what Chica… told you." Mark frowned. This was all a bit surreal for him. "Never mind that. Just…" he swore. "What the heck is going on?"

"Oh, right! Yeah! Sorry about the crash landing, I took a wrong turn while trying to get to the 1980s, _might_ have been a good thing, altogether, but anyway! Back to the subject, Mark! Lovely name, that. What's the date, by the way?"

"Uh… it's the middle of July, I think the 18th. 2017." Mark added the year for good measure. "But you still haven't told me -"

"Right, right. Kind of dangerous being here, I think. Might run into myself, considering I usually hang about the 2000s. Oh well! Anyway, what were you saying?"

Mark sighed. "Who are you, exactly?"

"I'm the Doctor. I told you that already." The Doctor frowned as Chica bounded back to her owner.

"That's not much of an answer." Mark frowned back. "It's not even a name. And then there's the fact that you just crash landed a box right next to me and my dog, scaring us both half to death. We could have _died!_ " The Doctor tried to respond, but was cut off. "I'm pretty sure we need some answers, _Doctor,_ and I'm pretty sure we need them _now._ "

Mark knew it wasn't much of a threat, but his heart sank as he saw the Doctor visibly crumple under invisible guilt. As the Doctor opened his mouth to speak, Mark noticed the man's eyes. Gone was the happy-go-lucky demeanor, replaced by a look so unmistakably old and sad and tired and _alien._

"I'm sorry. I'm - I'm so, so sorry. I - oh, Rose, Martha, _Donna_ , what have I done now?" The Doctor sank to the ground.

"It's - it's fine, man. I didn't mean anything. Please, I didn't mean anything, just - just look at me, okay?" Mark rushed over and awkwardly attempted to comfort the man. He felt awful for hurting him - words were a weapon he seldom used as such, and it felt terrible to be on the giving end.

Mark stayed close to the Doctor, offering what little comfort he could. Chica did a better job than he did, making sure to lick away the man's tears and snuggle as close as possible. Soon the sobs that wracked his body subsided. They sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking.

The Doctor stood up abruptly and walked towards a blue box sitting a few feet away. Mark was taken aback. Why hadn't he noticed it before?

"So! Mark!"

Mark stood up. "Yeah, Doc?"

"Doc?" The Doctor frowned. "Well, not the worst thing people have called me, I supposed. But back on track." He grinned abruptly. "I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. I'm almost a thousand years old and -"

"Sounds a bit stuck up if you ask me," smirked Mark.

"Yeah, well, I didn't choose the name." The Doctor half smiled, half frowned. He ran his hand through his hair, making it stick up even more. "Anyway. I'm not just a Time Lord, I'm the last of the Time Lords. And I owe you something."

"What would that something be?" Mark asked cautiously, walking over to the box. It looked strangely like something from earth, even with the words 'Police Public Call Box' printed at the top. There was a blue light coming from a lantern-like object on top of the box, giving the surrounding area an unearthly glow.

"Well, I don't know." The Doctor smiled, and opened the door to the box. "Fancy a trip through space and time itself?"


	3. Chapter 3

Mark gasped as the interior of the box was revealed and the Doctor stepped inside. It must be an illusion. It just wasn't possible, he thought, even as Chica bounded inside after the Doctor, receding into the distance between Mark and the console-like object in the center of the 'room'.

He quickly did a double take, walking around the exterior of the box. It was solid, made of wood, evident as he knocked on the back a couple times to make sure. Slowly, he walked back around to the front.

The inside of the box was a delicate brown coral color. The walls were decorated with hexagon-shaped lights. Four beautiful coral-like pillars arched up towards the main column in the center, an intricate column of lights that came down to the main console. The console itself was decorated with various levers and switches - even something that looked like a keyboard, and a monitor, to boot. The Doctor was seated at the only chair in the entire room - well, it was more of a bench - and happily petting Chica.

Mark was stunned. "It's bigger… on the inside!" He laughed. "How - how do you do it? Is it some sort of alien technology? Will Earth ever develop this? What's it made of? It's - it's…"

"Yeah?" The Doctor grinned.

"It's beautiful," exhaled Mark. "What does it do?"

"Well, to explain that, we have to go into the name. You see, this is my ship. She's called the TARDIS, and yes, she's a she, and she can hear you, so be nice. Anyway, TARDIS stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space, and she does exactly that." The Doctor smiled happily, obviously relishing the moment.

"So… it's - she's - a spaceship." Mark smiled happily, walking inside. "It travels in space. That's - this is amazing!"

"That's interesting," the Doctor pondered, "most people focus on the time part. You see, she's a time machine as well."

"Yeah, I heard you, but SPACE!" Mark laughed, causing Chica to rush over and bork happily. "She can travel in space! This is just - just so, so awesome!"

"You like space, then?"

"Yes!"

"Me too," the Doctor grinned, watching as Mark looked at all the intricate details of the TARDIS interior. "Well, then! I did say I owed you a trip, so let's get on that, shall we?" He jumped up, happily pressing buttons and flipping levers on the console as Mark watched in awe.

"How do you fly this thing?" Mark grabbed onto the railing as the TARDIS began to shake, making the strange noise from before.

"Well, technically you need six people, and I never passed the exam, so I have no idea, really."

Mark made a 'pff' sound. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Oi!"

Mark laughed, then did a double take. "Wait, if you're not from Earth, how come you sound like you're from England?"

"Oh, well, that's where I usually hang around, I s'pose," admitted the Doctor as the noise and shaking slowed to a stop. "When you're in a foreign country, you're bound to pick up some of the language, even down to the accent in my case."

"Where are we now? Did we take off? Are we in the atmosphere? How long does it take to get to space in your ship?" Mark rattled off questions one by one, overjoyed and yet panicking at the same time.

"Why don't you take a look?" answered the Doctor, motioning towards the door.

Mark walked over cautiously. "Won't we suffocate?"

"Nah."  
"Promise?"

"Promise. Allons-y!"

Mark cautiously pulled the door open.

"Oh…"

It was beautiful. The sky was alight with stars, so real and so close and so, so vast. A beautiful bluish yellow cloud took up most of the sky, its surface looking like a blanket full of diamonds. Chica barked and ran up to Mark, licking hands which hung limply at his sides.

"Ah, Chica…" Mark laughed faintly, a bit overwhelmed by the situation, but immediately perked up as a new idea formed. "Hey, Doctor… can I go out there?"

"Sure! Just let me get some rope. I've extended the shields, so there's oxygen, and the radiation can't get through as well. Oh, I love me a good spacewalk!" said the Doctor, already running to get supplies.

Mark just stared out the doorway, content. It wouldn't have mattered if he couldn't go outside. He was on a spaceship, in space, with Chica.

It was all he had ever dreamed of.


	4. Chapter 4

Mark sighed happily and sat down, cautiously dangling his feet over the edge of the TARDIS. It felt weird being half in and half out of gravity, like his legs were in a swimming pool of stars. Chica sat next to him and poked her head out, her tongue lolling around in her mouth as she stared at him with a smile on her doggy face.

He smiled back, giggling. He was in space!

Soon the Doctor came back, towing some tethers behind him. "Okay, Mark! Antigravity is a bit strange at first, but you'll get used to it. Now, normally we'd be using spacesuits for this, but the shields will protect us from any nasty environmental stuff going on out there. If you'd feel safer, though, I've got a few spare suits still out from my last adventure…" a dark look passed over the Doctor's face, but before Mark could ask what was wrong it had disappeared. "Anyway, I've measured out the amount of space - haha, space! - we have, and so we need about this much rope, and some extra to tie off…"

Mark tried to help the Doctor measure out the ropes, but the Doctor shooed him off, insisting that he go and take care of Chica, who was now half in and half out of the TARDIS, barking excitedly.

"So… how big is this place?" Mark carefully grabbed Chica and set her down on the grated floor. "

"Oh, she's pretty much infinite," said the Doctor, deftly tying a few knots in the tethers to make some makeshift harnesses. "She's added and removed some rooms over the years, but she likes to keep a certain few around. The swimming pool and the library, for instance - love a good library, me. And so does the TARDIS."

"So… she's alive?" Mark asked quizzically.

"We-ell… yes," the Doctor answered.

"Cool! Can she hear us? Can she talk? What does a spaceship think about?" Mark gushed, holding onto Chica's leash to make sure she stayed inside. "Can I talk to her? What do you say to a spaceship?"

The Doctor grinned. "Yes, sort of, anything. Your fourth question is a bit difficult to answer - the TARDIS can hear us talking, yes, and then there's the translation bit. Er, how to explain this - the TARDIS sort of, ah, gets in your head and translates things for you." The Doctor made a vague motion with his hands while still holding onto the ropes, resulting in a tangled mess. "Is that okay, or -"

Mark looked at the Doctor with a puzzled expression on his face. "I don't know, is it safe?"

"Yes! Yes, it's safe!" The Doctor smiled reassuringly.

"And she's not reading my mind or anything like that, right?" Mark frowned.

"No, no, of course not!" The Doctor looked at Mark, appalled. "That would be horrible! She's got ethics, y'know."

"Good. It's fine, then." Mark smiled, relieved. "Can we go into space now? Please?"

"Yes! Right!" The Doctor tossed Mark two of the tethers. "One for you and one for good ol' Chica."

"Awesome!" Mark giggled, attaching the loose tether to Chica and the putting on the harness.

"Alright, then!" The Doctor smiled happily at Mark. "Out you go!"

Mark walked over to the door, staring out at the stars. "One small step for Markiplier…"

Several things happened at once.

The Doctor's face blanched as he quietly asked "Did you say Markiplier?"

Chica ducked and growled, grabbing onto the tether attached to Mark and pulling him back.

A large ship came into view as the TARDIS spun around erratically from the tractor beam it was now attached to. Mark stepped back from the doors. "What's going on?"

The Doctor was already over at the console and frantically pressing buttons. "The tractor beam - it's disabled the TARDIS's main functions! She's a floating target! How's that possible? This is technology years ahead of every part of the universe!"

"Well, can you fix it?" Mark yelled as warning lights began to flash and the TARDIS' interior glowed red. "Cause I'm pretty sure this is not good!"

"No - hang on - no, that won't work. Let's see, shields - shields are almost down!" the Doctor snapped his fingers, closing the doors. "Okay, think, Doctor, think! Oh, stupid Doctor! Stupid, stupid Doctor, why can't you get your head around this one?"

"Is there anything I can do? Will we be okay? What about Chica?" Mark worriedly looked around for his dog, sighing with relief as he saw her covering her face in the corner.

"No, there's nothing we can do," the Doctor sighed, exasperated. "I've stabilized the gravity, so we won't be shaking about, but no matter what I try the tractor beam will still pull us in." He looked at the doors and back to Mark. "Until then… we wait."


	5. Chapter 5

Mark slowly sank down against the wall, his heart pounding in his chest. Chica quickly came to his aid as soon as she realized the shaking had stopped, licking his face cautiously.

"Oh, Chica, I'm the one who got you into this mess. I'm such an idiot. All I wanted to do was see the stars…"

"No, no, it's my fault. Every time - every time I try to help, it just ends up hurting someone, someone important with their own life and family and friends. I - look, I'll go out and deal with whoever this is. You just stay here with Chica. You'll be fine, okay? Nothing can get through the TARDIS doors," The Doctor paced anxiously, "especially nothing that can hurt you. Now, about… you, Mark. I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry, but I shouldn't have offered you an adventure at all."

"Why? What's wrong with me?" Mark frowned, standing up with Chica by his side.

"Nothing," the Doctor said, "nothing at all. But there is one little problem, one tiny little thing that you forgot to mention earlier."

"What's that?" Mark asked, cautiously.

"Mark Fischbach, am I right?"

"Excuse me, but how-"

"Mark Edward Fischbach, born June 28, 1989. More commonly known as Markiplier, and an online gaming phenomenon." The Doctor sighed. "You're famous, Mark, and you used to be a fixed point, but now time is in flux and it's all my fault. Ah, I should have scanned!" The Doctor yelled, frustrated to the point of visible anger. "Now we're stuck with space pirates for all I know and I've put your life in danger and I'm so sorry Donna why Donna why, why, why…"

Mark slowly walked over to the collapsed Doctor, Chica close behind, the sudden realisation of the situation kicking in. He was on a spaceship, in space, being towed in by a tractor beam, trying to comfort the alien who was his only way home. "Hey, Doc, um…" He grimaced. "Do you need to talk?"

"I -" the Doctor began.

There was a thud, and the TARDIS shook a bit before stuttering to a stop.

The Doctor bounced back up. Mark followed suit. "Are you okay? Doctor?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm - I'm fine. Just -" he smiled wanly, "just a bit strung up, yeah? Say - how about I open those doors and we'll see what's outside?"

As the Doctor walked over to the door, his normally cheery behavior subdued, Mark sighed.

"I'm coming with you, Doc."

"No, you're not."

"Yes I am."

"Yeah?" The Doctor frowned. "Listen, Mark, it's -"

"Too dangerous? And what about you? You're obviously unstable. Whatever happened to your friends has put you on edge. You need backup, Doc. That much is obvious." Mark walked over to the Doctor, who was now next to the door. "I'm coming with you, and that's final."

Chica barked in agreement.

Sighing, the Doctor opened the TARDIS doors. "Fine. As long as you promise me something."

"What's that?"

"Don't wander off." The Doctor stepped outside.

"What do you take me for, a fool?" Mark scoffed, grabbing Chica's leash. "I've played many a horror game, Doc. Splitting up is the last thing we want to do."

"Finally, someone with a bit of common sense…" the Doctor let his sentence hang. "Hang on, why is nobody here?"

"Yeah… that's weird…" Mark looked around the ship's interior. They were in a fairly large open space - Mark assumed 'docking bay' - with many crates and boxes. There was a gigantic bay door on one side with an almost-as-large window. "What type of ship is this?"

"Looks like a freighter. Earth style, maybe 32nd century?" The Doctor reached into his inside coat pocket and grabbed a strange cylindrical device. Mark raised an eyebrow.

"What's that?"

"Sonic screwdriver!" The Doctor grinned. "Handy tool, this. Right now I'm scanning for life forms. Love me some good life forms."

"O-kay…" Mark looked down at Chica, who was sniffing the floor. And marking her territory on a nearby box. "Why, Chica? We don't even know whose ship this is!"

"No, no, it's fine…" The Doctor frowned and looked over at Mark. "Ship's empty. No life forms."

"Huh," Mark pondered. "So… what's preventing us from leaving, then?"

"The ship, evidently. Not that it matters much."

"Why not?" frowned Mark. "What else is wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. Just a mysterious hallway on the other side of this room with all of the lights out." The Doctor grinned.

"Oh - oh. Cool. Um, is it safe? Should I go?" Mark looked worriedly in the direction the Doctor was walking towards.

"Ah, time is in flux. Might as well live for today, eh? Besides, there's nothing in here. Nothing dangerous, at least. Well, probably. Hopefully. So! Are you coming?" The Doctor smiled, almost yelling from the edge of the hall.

"Um…"

Mark looked down at Chica, again struck by the strangeness of the situation. He was on a spaceship in the 32nd century, with an alien from Gallifrey who called himself a Time Lord, the last of his kind.

He was content with his life back home, but some days…

"I'm coming." Mark smiled.

"Alright then! Allons-y!" The Doctor disappeared behind the corner.

Mark laughed and followed after, Chica warily trotting behind.


	6. Chapter 6

"So! What do we do now, Doc?" Mark looked around the futuristic corridor.

"Well, we look around. Maybe something will tell us what happened here. Y'know, I always manage to run into trouble, me. So far nothing seems too out of the ordinary, just an empty cargo ship without any life forms, nothing to see here… y'know, on second thought maybe we should go…" the Doctor slowed his fast-paced walk to a crawl, stepping in line with Mark.

"Nah, it's fine. This is kind of fun, really - I never expected to be in space, let alone on a real future spaceship!" Mark responded giddily. "What do you think, Chica-Beaka? Huh?"

Chica growled.

"What's wrong, bub?" frowned Mark, saddened by his dog's lack of approval.

The Doctor looked at Chica with a worried expression. "She's really, really nervous. We should - we should really go, I think something's wrong with the -"

A large rumble passed through the ship.

"Engine. Something's wrong with the engine, Mark, run!" The Doctor quickly grabbed Mark's hand, only looking back to check and see if he and Chica were running after him. They were. The ship continued to rumble more and more as the doors to the hangar slowly went down.

They approached the door. Chica bolted underneath, almost pulling the leash out of Mark's hand just before the door slams shut, clamping the leash underneath.

"Chica, no…" Mark's face fell. "No, no no no no. This isn't happening. I'm not - no. This must be a dream, I'm not really here, Chica's okay, I'll just wake up now, it's fine, it's -"

"Mark. Listen to me." The Doctor knelt down on the floor next to where Mark was huddled, the ship still groaning and creaking around them. "It's fine, I'll just sonic the door open, see?... Hang on… Ah, it's deadlock sealed!" The Doctor looked at the door as he ran his hands through his hair, then turned back to Mark, who was now deadly quiet.

"So you can't open the door."

"I'm afraid not, but -"

"Oh, Doctor…" Mark laughed dryly. "This - this is great. My first time in space and my dog gets trapped behind a stupid door and your stupid sonic thing can't open it and it's all because of you and your stupid box!" Mark was yelling, almost to the point of tears. "And - and what's more - it's - oh, I'm such an idiot!" he shouted, sobbing.

"Shh - Mark, Mark, look at me. Look at me. Okay?" The Doctor put a hand on Mark's shoulder in an attempt to comfort the man. "We'll find a way out of this. It's my fault, not yours - I was the one who decided to take you here in the first place, okay?"

"But I -"

"No buts. Come on, let's go, eh?" The Doctor slowly helped Mark to his feet. "We'll get you back safe, I promise. I promise, Mark, okay?"  
Mark sighed shakily. "Okay."

"Good, good."

They walked along the corridors in silence for a few minutes, the Doctor guiding Mark through the various twists and turns. He had been on these types of ships before, and knew the correct path to the engine room - he was more worried about his current companion.

It was true that the time stream around Mark was in flux - he could feel it in the air. This, however, brought up another issue.

He absolutely, definitely needed to keep Mark safe.

There was no question about it. If Mark… wasn't okay, not only would his fans notice his absence, but his friends as well, not to mention the few kids who were barely holding on even with Mark to cheer them up. Mark was a lifeline for some people.

And the Doctor had stolen him off the face of the earth.

The Doctor glanced at Mark for a second, wondering how he was holding up.

Mark was gone.

"Why do they always wander off? I thought he said he wasn't going to wander off, why do they always -" The Doctor turned around, preparing to retrace his steps, only to see Mark directly behind him, pale as a sheet - almost as if he had seen a ghost.

"Mark - Mark, are you okay?" The Doctor grabbed his sonic out of his coat pocket, scanning Mark to see if anything was different from before. Everything was normal. Everything was fine. But why wasn't Mark responding?

Suddenly Mark winced and looked directly at the Doctor. "Could you stop shoving that thing in my face, please?"

The Doctor returned the look, confused, then glanced at the sonic screwdriver and back again. "Oh. Yes. Right. Ah, what's wrong, exactly?"

"Oh, just - nah, it's nothing, really. Come on, let's go find Chica."

The Doctor frowned. "Are you sure? Because you were standing in the middle of the hallway, unresponsive and looking pretty dead."

"Yeah. I'm sure. Come on, we don't have much time." Mark started walking away from the Doctor, who followed reluctantly.

 **P.S.**

 **Thank you all for reading my silly ramblings! :) I love hearing from you guys! Sorry that I haven't replied to any of the comments so far, I'm new to publishing on this site and I still need to figure out the little quirks. :D Thanks for reading! More to come...**


	7. Chapter 7

Mark sighed shakily as he walked slowly down the corridor, waiting for the Doctor to catch up with him. In truth, he had no idea what had just happened - all he could remember was a weird feeling and this terrible, awful noise, just like-

"So! The engine should be this way. There should be a proper access panel there, hopefully still working, and then I can figure out what's wrong." The Doctor took off down a new hallway, taking the lead once again. Mark followed, hoping the walking would take his mind off of whatever had just happened.

"Uh, Doc, why are we going towards the exploding engine and not towards my dog?" asked Mark. "I mean, I guess I don't know my way around a spaceship…" he awkwardly looked at the floor.

"Nah, that's a fine question to ask! As a matter of fact, we're doing both. This ship loops around, you see - the engine room is right in the middle, and we're taking a shortcut through it to see if we can fix the problem before everything explodes explosively."

"Oh. Cool."

They walked in silence for a bit longer, the Doctor making little quips every few yards to try and alleviate the tension.

It didn't help much.

"So, uh, Doc, what type of ship is this?" Mark asked, curious.

"We-ell, it's human built, that's for sure," the Doctor replied. "Yup. Human built. Lots of Earth metals and plastics. I'd say this is an ordinary 41st century cargo ship, except for the deadlock seal on that door back there and the custom tractor beam that's disabled the TARDIS' main functions. Nasty bit of work, that..." He frowned. "Hope she's doing okay… we've had a few troublesome run-ins recently. Not to mention… ah, well, never mind. So! Here's the engine room!" The Doctor grabbed his sonic screwdriver and began scanning the door. "Strange, this one's basically wide open."

"Maybe they forgot to… deadlock it?" Mark watched as the door opened, then followed the Doctor into the engine room.

"Yeah, maybe…" the Doctor answered while looking for whatever panel he needed to make an assessment, and, upon its discovery, quickly jumping over as the engine rumbled again with a very upsetting creaking sound.

Mark looked around the room they were in. They were standing on a catwalk with the engine in the middle and going down all the way past the catwalk to the main floor. The engine was unlike any engine he had ever seen - it looked nothing like anything in the movies. It was all encased in a sleek box with one slash down the side that definitely did not seem normal.

"Doc? I think you might want to take a look at this." He motioned to the break in the metal box's exterior.

"Yeah, just a sec, almost got it… There! Now we can see what's wrong!" The Doctor had pulled up a holographic screen almost the size of the engine itself.

"Oh, so this tells us what's wrong, then?" Mark looked up at the display. "That's so cool! Is it solid? Can it show us if Chica is doing alright?"

"Oh! Chica? She's doing fine. I've got a scan running on my sonic screwdriver that's pinging her location, vitals, etcetera. She's doing fine, a bit anxious - probably missing you, Mark, but that's a given. Don't worry, we'll get to her soon as I figure out what's gone wrong here and fix it."

"About that, Doc… I think you might want to see this." Mark pointed to the gash in the engine's containment.

"Oh. Oh, no. Oh, this is bad. This - this is really, really -" the Doctor ran his hand through his hair - "bad."

"Why, what's it mean?"

"Sabotage. Most definitely sabotage. And if it's sabotage, the saboteur -"

"- could still be aboard." Mark finished the Doctor's sentence worriedly. "But I thought you said there were no life forms?"

"That's true," said the Doctor. "But… you never know, really. Not with me…" he trailed off saldy.

They stood for a minute, listening to the sickly hums of the engine, before Mark broke the silence.

"So… should we check the ship's logs or something?"

"Oh! Stupid Doctor! Stupid, stupid Doctor! The logs are the first thing you check! Oh, Donna, you are brilliant!" The Doctor turned to Mark, smiling exuberantly, his expression only wavering for a second as he realized his mistake before returning to the conversation. "How did you know?"

"I - I play a lot of video games." Mark said sheepishly. He had noticed the Doctor's mistake, but decided not to mention it. The poor guy, he thought - he had obviously lost a lot of his friends. Maybe they were even more refugees from his planet? That would be tough, to outlive the rest of your species…

"Aha! Let's see what the captain has to say, shall we?" The Doctor jumped back from the screen's controls triumphantly as the ship's logs began to play.

"This is … Captain of Aurora 5… approaching… ight, do you co… I said M... do you copy? We are appr… please respond! There's… sort of shadow enc… net, do you copy? Are you all o…" The Doctor frowned. Something was wrong here - something was tugging at his memory, something wrong. "What is it?" he asked, aloud, to no one in particular.

"What is it?" Mark asked, with a similar tone.

"We-ell, that's the thing. I don't exactly know. The automatic records should be showing what planet we're by, but they just… aren't. It's just… repeated text. Two words, really, over and over…"

Mark looked at the screen. He could make out the text pretty easily - he wondered how that exactly worked, did the TARDIS choose a font, or what? How was she translating? It took him a few minutes to properly read the only two words (mostly due to his own thoughts), but they were there, clear as day: darkened sky, over and over…

And now for the credits of this chapter! This is new for me, I've never really responded to any comments, but here you go!

 **Thank you to Multipule-Characters1-Acct** for asking a very important question: will Mark's egos appear in this story? The answer: Yes. Sort of. Things will get a bit complicated before that happens, however. Spoilers!

 **Thank you for reading, as always! More to come!**


	8. Chapter 8

"So… does that have any significance to you, or…" Mark stared at the words inquisitively.

"No. None that I know of, at least, and that's saying quite a bit." The Doctor smirked, then stared at Mark with a horrified expression. "I - I completely forgot about the engines! This place could blow at any second! Mark - just - okay. Get to the TARDIS. I've hooked up the intercoms, so we should be able to talk - just find one of the intercom panels, can't miss 'em. Go straight until there's a second large hallway, then turn right and right again, if the maps are anything to go by. I'll handle the engines."

"O-okay."  
The Doctor gave Mark a strange look before beginning his work on the engines, not turning when he heard Mark's footsteps. Usually the humans he traveled with would at least object once to his lack of self-preservation before running off, much to his annoyance. Why couldn't they just shut up and let him do his job?

He walked over to the gash in the engine's side. It wasn't too bad, fixable, but he needed time. Something that had little of - in more ways than one, he thought bitterly.

Sighing, he grabbed some spare equipment from his coat pocket and began to tinker around with it, fitting it into the broken engine parts like pieces to a puzzle. He needed to finish this, and fast. Or else.

Suddenly a voice crackled in over the barely-held-together intercom. "Doc! I found Chica! Come on, let's get out of here!"

"Hang on, Mark, just gotta…" the Doctor's voice left the intercom with a crackling static noise. Mark swore, then looked down at Chica, who was now unhitched from her leash, following him like the good dog she was.

"We can't leave him, Chica…" The ship rumbled again. "There's nobody on the ship. He doesn't have to fix it anymore. Unless…"

The Doctor gasped as the engine released another wave of heat. What was he doing this for? Mark and Chica were safe. Why did he want to stay? He didn't have enough spare parts to fix the ship, he should just go.

But there was one part of him that just wanted to stay.

"Doc? Hey, Doc?" The voice wasn't over the intercom - it was closer.

"Yeah, Mark?" The Doctor walked slowly over to the door. He still had to take Mark home. That was all. Then he could - what could he do? Get back to what - running?

He made an 'oof' noise as Chica barreled into him, knocking him over and covering him with kisses. "Ah, Chica, stop it! We've got to get out of here!" he laughed tiredly. "I - oh, hello, Mark! Come on, time to go. Allons-y!"

"But what about the ship?" Mark frowned as the Doctor grabbed his hand.

"I think - emphasis on think - I managed to shut down whatever was holding the TARDIS here. We should be able to leave. Oh, and while I was at it, I sent her the ship's logs, too - so we can really figure out what's going on here." The Doctor smiled and walked briskly down the hall that Mark had come from. "We might as well leave well enough alone."

"You don't seem like the 'well enough alone' type…" Mark looked questioningly at the Doctor. "You sure you're -"

"I'm fine. Totally fine. Nothing's wrong. I'm, ah… brilliant. Fantastic, even." The Doctor laughed bitterly. "Why would anything be wrong with me?"

"Well… if you ever want to talk about it… just tell me, okay?" Mark looked at the Doctor, who seemed to be holding back tears. "I - I might be an idiot and a goof sometimes, as you probably know, but -"

"Mark, no." The Doctor stopped and looked at Mark.

"Huh?" Mark looked at the Doctor, a confused look on his face.

"You're - you're brilliant, Mark." the Doctor exclaimed. "You make so many people smile every day - sometimes without even knowing it, sometimes at the expense of your own happiness. You - you're - you're the fantastic one!" The Doctor laughed. "And you don't even know it! Ah, I'm so glad I met you, Mark. And Chica too, of course. Come on! No time to lose! Allons-y!"

The engine rumbled again as Mark stood there, stunned. The mere fact that his fame was interplanetary was… astounding, to say the least. And definitely something to think about.

Ah, well, right now he needed to focus on getting off this exploding ship.


	9. Chapter 9

The trip back to the TARDIS was relatively uneventful. Chica continued to pad along next to the Doctor, making concerned dog noises. The Doctor could hardly ignore her. And so, as they reached their destination, the Doctor had thoroughly scratched Chica's soft golden ears.

"Feeling better?" Mark said, watching as the Doctor unlocked the door to the TARDIS.

The Doctor looked back at Mark, then at the floor, then up at Mark again. "Yes."

Mark smiled, following him into the TARDIS. The poor Doc had obviously seen some stuff, Mark thought. And what was Mark's job if not to make people happy?

"So! Mark!" The Doctor hit a few levers and the TARDIS took off once again. "I'm going to drop you off, soon, but first… let's get to the bottom of this mysterious abandoned ship, eh?"

"Yeah, that'd be cool!" Mark grinned, trying to stay positive for his new friend. "So… are we gonna listen to the rest of the logs, or something?"

"Yes! And here we are…" The Doctor flipped a few switches while pulling the monitor to the side of the console nearest the chair. The monitor flickered to life, displaying some circular symbols that Mark didn't recognise.

"This first one is the one we heard before, but don't worry, it's better quality," said the Doctor, flopping down on the chair next to Mark as the logs began to play.

"This is Samuel Evanson, Captain of the ship Aurora 5. We are approaching Planet Midnight, do you copy? I said Midnight, do you copy? We are approaching Midnight, please respond! There's some sort of shadow enclosing the planet, do you copy? Are you all -"

The logs stopped abruptly as the Doctor shut them off. Mark hadn't even noticed him get up. As Mark looked at his new friend's face, he found it completely changed.

Gone was the happy-go-lucky demeanor, replaced by a look of sorrow so deep and so old that Mark knew he would never forget.

The Doctor slowly pushed the monitor back to its original position, pressing a few levers and buttons. He then began to walk towards the TARDIS doors, finally swinging them open.

Mark walked behind him and looked out.

They were back in space, this time facing the Aurora 5 and, beyond her groaning hull, a strange, glittering planet. Mark noted that the surface was almost diamond-like in appearance, except for one factor - swirling shadows that licked its entirety, making it seem almost ghostly. It felt weird to look at for some reason, almost as if it wasn't just there, as if it was almost reaching out to -

The Doctor closed the TARDIS doors. Mark almost went to open them again for a second, but then halted. What was he thinking? He reached up to plug his ears just as the TARDIS rattled from the exploding ship outside, but he could have sworn he heard something else, something familiar, something wrong.

"Well, Mark, it's - it's been fun. Oh, I'm glad I met you." The Doctor grinned his lopsided grin, piloting the TARDIS once more.

"I'm glad I met you," Mark said, grinning back. Chica ran up to the Doctor from her newfound spot in the corner where she had been sniffing about, oblivious to the goings-on. "So… will I see you again, or…"

The Doctor's smile flickered for a second before he answered, busying himself with the controls.. "Best not, really. It's dangerous travelling with me. But! If you find yourself in any sort of… ah… space-related situation, here's my number." The Doctor handed Mark a slip of paper.

"Oh, cool! That's so awesome! It's a phone box, and it has a phone! That's so cool!" Mark gushed, entering the number into his cell. "But how will it work with the… time travel stuff?"

"Oh, right, yes! Here, give me your phone." The Doctor grabbed his sonic screwdriver and began to mess with the signals. "It should work anyway, but best to be careful. Anyway, we're back in the field. Are you okay with that?"

Mark grinned. "Are you okay with that?"

The Doctor frowned. "What?"

Chica walked up to Mark and licked his hand worriedly. Mark frowned. "What?"

"No, what were you saying?"

"No, what -" Mark grimaced. "I was just saying - see ya later, Spaceman."

The Doctor paled, a surprised look on his face, which then shifted to a questioning one. "What did you say?" he asked, his tone guarded.

"Spaceman!" Mark replied happily. "It's what I named your contact on my phone."

The Doctor sidestepped Chica as she rushed past him to get outside, most likely in want of a good place to do her business. It hurt to have Mark call him Spaceman, but at the same time... he grinned lopsidedly.

"Okay, Earthboy."

Mark watched from the field as the TARDIS took off. He hadn't seen it properly… dematerialize, he supposed was the word. It was pretty cool, he thought. The wind blew the grass away from the blue box, ruffling Mark's hair and Chica's fur. Mark laughed, waving goodbye, as Chica woofed at the TARDIS' strange noise.

The ride home was uneventful, and both had dreams of space that night.

The Doctor sighed as the TARDIS took off. It had been fun, meeting Mark. But he couldn't travel with him, no, Mark was a part of the timeline - too many people depended on him. But then again, people had depended on Rose and Martha and Donna, and what had he done? He had let them down.

Just then, the phone rang.

The Doctor rushed over to pick it up. Did he dare hope?

"Hey, Doc - this number does work, right?"

"Yeah, Mark! It's me!" The Doctor grinned. "I'm on my way!"


End file.
